Russell Westbrook will miss the rest of the playoffs with a torn left meniscus. / Mark D. Smith, USA TODAY Sports

by Sean Highkin, USA TODAY Sports

by Sean Highkin, USA TODAY Sports

The last time the Oklahoma City Thunder played a game without Russell Westbrook, they were known as the Seattle SuperSonics. Not only did Westbrook appear in all 82 games this season, he also averaged 34.9 minutes a game.

The Thunder will start second-year guard Reggie Jackson for Westbrook when they go for a 3-0 series lead Saturday night at the Houston Rockets. Taking on some of Westbrook's workload in addition to his own minutes will be an adjustment for Jackson, who played 30 or more minutes once during the regular season and 20 or more minutes 13 times.

The Thunder's other point guard is 38-year-old Derek Fisher, who could see much of the crunch-time minutes as a veteran of playoff action, including championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. But how he will hold up is problematic; he played only 17.4 minutes a game this season.

Although Kevin Durant was the league's second-leading scorer in the regular season, averaging 28.1 points, the Thunder relied heavily on Westbrook for offense. He led the team in usage rate at 32.8%, meaning that almost a third of Oklahoma City's possessions when he was on the floor ended with Westbrook scoring, turning the ball over or making a trip to the free throw line. Durant was second in usage rate at 29.8%.

Outside of LeBron James, there's nobody in the league more equipped to shoulder the extra scoring load and an injury to a player such as Westbrook than Durant. But while Durant has dramatically improved his passing and ballhandling this season, the Thunder have no ready-made fix to replace Westbrook's playmaking abilities.

Westbrook scored 29.5% of the Thunder's points this season, no small feat considering Oklahoma City had the second-most efficient offense in the league at 110.2 points scored per 100 possessions. Durant scored 32.9% of their points, and he will almost definitely be up to the task of scoring more, but his efficiency (he joined the 50-40-90 club this season) will likely take a hit in the process. If Durant scores at a historic pace during the rest of the postseason, he can replace a lot of what Westbrook gives the Thunder, but even he can't replace all of it.

Although the trade made sense at the time, the loss of Westbrook is one instance where general manager Sam Presti might have second thoughts about dealing James Harden to the Rockets. Harden was deadly last season as a Manu Ginobili-like super-sub during the Thunder's run to the Finals, and his performance this season with the Rockets shows that he would have been more than capable of sliding into the starting lineup and filling Westbrook's void. Kevin Martin shot an outstanding 42.6% from three-point range this season as Harden's replacement, but he isn't nearly the playmaker or explosive finisher that Harden or Westbrook is.

With Jeremy Lin hurt, the Thunder still have a very good chance of beating the Rockets in the first round (they lead the series 2-0). The second round, against the Los Angeles Clippers or Memphis Grizzlies, will be another story. Not having to stay in front of lightning-quick Westbrook on defense would take significant pressure off Clippers point guard Chris Paul. And without Westbrook to account for, the Grizzlies' suffocating perimeter defense would have more resources (Tony Allen, Mike Conley, Tayshaun Prince) to throw at Martin off the bench.

Westbrook's injury opens up the Western Conference playoff picture for either of those teams, as well as the San Antonio Spurs or the winner of the Denver Nuggets-Golden State Warriors series. Beyond that, it takes one of the most dangerous scorers in the NBA off the team that was the presumptive favorite to repeat as conference champions. Durant might rise to the challenge and will the Thunder into the Finals, but the stiff competition makes that a shot in the dark. No matter how you look at it, the Thunder have taken a huge hit.